Friday, March 15, 2013

Meeting the Newest Teacher

The time had come for us to meet Mikey's new teacher. I think I speak for most of the parents in that class when I say we were anxious and concerned. After losing two teachers over a short period of time, I know I was beginning to wonder if this program was ever a really well-thought out plan. I didn't believe that this school really had any concept of what they had taken on, and after dealing with the last teacher, I was even more skeptical.
How relieved I was after meeting her! This person seemed genuine, she really wanted to do a great job, and she wanted to help the kids to learn as much as possible. She always greeted the class with a huge smile on her face,and never seemed irritated by them. Believe me when I tell you that a job is special education is not easy. It requires a tremendous amount of patience,compassion and kindness. Fortunately, this teacher had all of the above. I was filled with a sense of relief as well as a new found hope for the future.
We all worked well together, and I always appreciated that she had a good sense of humor about it all. After all, if you were not able to laugh at some of the things that went on, you might as well have called it quits. We always seemed to be on the same page, and Mikey liked her as well. That was very important....more so than whatever my feelings were. He also had a great lady working with him as his aide. She took very good care of him, and showed such a genuine concern. I finally felt comfortable again knowing he was in good hands.
All in all, the year went well. Mikey seemed to stay on task, he seemed happy, and the classsroom was once again a happy, productive place. The kind of place that it should have been all along. The kids spent the year learning to read, working on math problems and learning about money, working on art projects, and having fun at recess and on field day.Things were good...and sometimes that is all that was needed. We didn't need everything to be perfect, for that wasn't even a possibility, but when things were good, it was much better than when things were bad. For us, it was a time of peace, albeit a short one. Unfortunately for us, things were not about to stay so calm and peaceful. It would not be long before some behaviors crept back in and dealing with school administrators became more of a battle than a help.